Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-04-28
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A Uarosua Investigation OF Ezis Hit
srnry work.
AS ssShea IL now very popular, and
many are intereated in the work Of MIR. h.
Rider Haggard, o recent editorial from
The New York Eoegling Post headed
.'Something too much of this' viii prove
interesting
Mr.. H. Rider Haggard is very like Mo-
Herein one particular. lie has been
rightly called an extremely lucky man.
He has caught the public taste Just on the |
rebound; he has brought to market wares |
for which everybody waa hungering, and, !
so far as pecuniary success and great
sudden popularity are concerned, he has
been equaled by scarcely any writer of the
more modem days. 1t is perhaps, under
the circumstances, only in obedience TO o
natural instinct that we approach with
our little compliment to Moliele-to help
along one who has done SO well for him
aslf. TO heap up the full measure, to sup
NV the .,nore abundance" predestined
for s,vhoeoeyer hath''-but we shall not
be restrained from paying it by any pos-
aibie intimations of time serving.
Mr. Haggard's King Solomon's Mines
cesasioned warm controversy in the
English literary journals, in which he
WINS accused Of appropriating some small
but striking incidents of his story-suoh
az Goods terrifying the Africans by shift
ing his false teeth, and captivating them
by the exhibition Of his white legs-inei-
dents which were nothing if not original.
But bis friends defended Mr.. Haggard
flom the charge of plagiarism, and he
said for himself that the incidents we're
Els own; that the work from which be
was accused of conveying them was pub
lished after the appearance of his story,
or after il was entirely written-at any
rate. he affirmed his innocence in the
matter, declasing that the likeness was
pure accident and in effect that the par
ticulars in question were such as were
likely 10 occur to anybody, although we
believe they never really did occur to
anybody but Mr.. Haggard or his contem'
porary. However this may be, il is never
proper to press n-attsz OF this KIND
Cases of actually unconscious fesem blanct
are too frequent and familiar, and they
must continue, so long as books are mani
and possible incidents are comparative!
few. And Mr.. Haggard would hay'
suffered in no mans estimation on &C
count of Mr.. Goods teeth and legs.
But the theory of unconscious resem
blanee is tolerable only within very mar
row limits. An author may require &c
eeptance Of it in D single instance almof
"a a right; but If he offers il for Beoon
time its validity becomes doubtful; th
third time it breaks down. The swii
progression of unlikelihood is not to b
Expressed in more exact terms. Now "
take another passage from the same wor
of Mr.. Haggard and contrast 1t with til
Venerable Bede, who published befol
Mr.. Haggard wrote. For convenience
comparison we employ the deadly pa
allel.
$50 seems the life Of "what Is life2 re
man, O King, - . spar me, o white mtn, WI
rows flight through the ara wse tell IN
hall when one Is sitting white me1, the seer
at meat In wntertse, Of our ,iis- ,Sbsnas
mt The iey RAIN torn Eye cannot anBw u
without. The sparrow ye know not Listen n,
filee IN at Que doc, and win answer. Out Of 4
tarfi a Tor Il moment ia dark W came, 1 70 u
the ligat snd heat Of dars We go. Llke
the hesfth-hre, and storm-driyen blra
Then Tying forth from night We fly out u u
rho other, vanishes ntoNowheve; for nome
the darkness VIII tour wings are seen
c lnte. SO { rrles for u the light OF ths hre,al
moment tbs life 4 mau loi W. aro gone aga
In our eightlS lib ,s1a, into the Nowhsrr.
Hist Ecul, H., 8. Quot H. Rider Hargar
Cd in Green's 'Ankins king Solomou,s Mice
Of England, Harper >, en-. v, ip 70. HArpe
1882, p. E56.Il Frankiia square EV
Then, as for "She,n the English crit
t,aua d;eoovarad that tine story of tdAri
os;r;,ai;t,,', i INF 30 a ravamri,o Of Moor
s.fTSa T';;o,,roo, - which az tbe p
Nh .5SseSte ~ Mo,cb 1Ith points q
a@ss ian, l,s,, ,,ota ~ NJ Haogar
oon ), sstha ya HS's oer,n NJ NJ Fl
ntss &c., y r,boss t.noat striking !
salu ssSsl, ~ biaI,,v lcolorsd comics
lures sre gn y, 49, y Tbe I'll h
snose Jaw ~ ~ co1rmns n disn
linen e1lp lsy W. ;,,ato,,ca5 IF Tnre ~
roughly S Slnns Mo na anJ concludes.
Neyali'e hion 4'Aooto' =, 4 =,
From this , mass or evidence ,a ~ .t Is u
ether tnaa me sfLcu69iaH was and that
vi ~ NJ t,i r'' 99iynrte3 tha stream Of thou
mo new channels. or else that a most
mnrkabie coincidence has taken plf
which should afford food for reflection
writers and critics alike. Not only q
resemblance exist between the ileas .,
t@o eeleoIasea 'sutnSps, ~ an, ~ 1871
tnelIeuts' soenss, .oteiet4eo' -,
The naleest OF Slr. haggarus the q,
in less. mere Is httiu poem w
has oeen gong the rounus ~, VI me 2
p
~ tofasar p 400 . 4,t- " Y sius
81 ebua4t y e blgh'
NV friends wrulf lrnr H-E9n nv l'NI